Studying how patients walk could help medics distinguish between two common brain diseases, research suggests. Doctors often struggle to tell whether patients are suffering from early dementia with Lewy bodies or early Parkinson’s disease, as both neurological conditions share similar symptoms, including changes in movement. Experts at the University of Waterloo have found that analysis of walking behaviour could help tell the diseases apart.
They found that people with early dementia with Lewy bodies walked more slowly, took shorter steps, and had a lower walking rhythm than people with early Parkinson’s. Study leader Dr Kaylena Ehgoetz Martens said: “We compared stepping patterns between individuals with early dementia with Lewy bodies and people with early Parkinson’s disease to see whether walking behaviour could help distinguish the two conditions and found that they can.
“The findings highlight the promise of measuring movement in a more detailed manner, which could address a significant clinical problem.
“Because the two diseases look similar in their early stages, patients may receive an incorrect diagnosis, which affects treatment decisions, care planning and expectations for patients and their families.”
Around 100,000 people are thought to be living with dementia with Lewy bodies in the UK, making it the third most common type of dementia after Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia.
Some 166,000 people in the UK are living with Parkinson’s disease, and the figure is rising due to an ageing population.
When distinguishing between the two, doctors will also consider other symptoms.
If memory problems occur before movement is affected, then dementia with Lewy bodies is more likely to be the cause than Parkinson’s, according to Alzheimer’s Research UK.
Simple walking assessments could help doctors diagnose the two conditions more accurately and at an earlier stage, according to the researchers.
They found that the differences in gait were most pronounced when people were asked to perform a second task, such as counting backwards.
Dr Ehgoetz Martens added: “Asking participants to walk while counting backward revealed changes that weren’t as obvious during regular walking.
“Ultimately, the goal is to identify individuals sooner, intervene earlier and improve quality of life before symptoms become more severe.”
The findings were published in the journal Gait & Posture.
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